In follow up to my last post, here are the web sites that proved so helpful to me in getting the kind of medical treatment I wanted for my fibroids:
www.fibroidsecondopinion.com (provides a great primer on ALL treatment options!)
www.gynalternatives.com
www.repmed.com
www.uterinefibroids.com
www.obgyn.net/AAGL2008/AAGL2008.asp?page=Parker_Indman
www.empowher.com/condition/uterine-fibroids
www.nuff.org
If you think you might be suffering from fibroids or know someone who might be, I hope you will share these links with them. I welcome private e-mails from anyone who needs help on this issue and who would like more information on my own experience. (E-mail me privately on Facebook or at jdlittle@san.rr.com.)
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Joan’s PSA on an Important Women’s Health Issue – Benign Tumors of the Uterus (Part I)
Discussing a personal health situation on Facebook and a blog is not something I EVER thought I would do but I feel so strongly about getting information out to other women on this issue that my normal inhibitions are gone. My apologies in advance to anyone for whom this is TMI.
Several months ago, I was diagnosed with benign tumors of the uterus otherwise known as fibroids. Before this diagnosis I’d never heard of fibroids and had no clue what they were!!! Most women, particularly in their 30’s and 40’s will develop fibroids and for most they cause no problems at all. For some, however, they do cause problems including pelvic pain and pressure, excessive bleeding and anemia and fatigue among other things. I suffered from all of these problems and some others. The most common treatment for fibroids offered by most doctors, including most obgyn’s, particularly if a woman is beyond her childbearing years is hysterectomy. Some doctors will even recommend hysterectomy even when a woman’s fibroids are not symptomatic!!! *THE POINT IS THAT HYSTERECTOMY IS TOO OFTEN OFFERED BY DOCTORS AS THE ONLY TREATMENT FOR FIBROIDS WHEN THERE ARE A NUMBER OF OTHER MUCH LESS INVASIVE TREATMENT OPTIONS.* Having participated in a few online support groups for fibroids, I cannot tell you how common a story it is for a woman to post that she’s been diagnosed with fibroids and been to three or four doctors who have all told her that she should have a hysterectomy. *THIS SHOULD NOT BE HAPPENING!* Too many doctors, out of lack of up to date knowledge or skills and/or for financial interest reasons or for other reasons I still can’t fathom, are not advising their fibroid patients of ALL the treatment options they may have available to them.
I too was initially presented with hysterectomy as my treatment option. Thankfully, living in the days of the Internet I was able to do my own research, connect with other women in a similar situation to mine and to find a fibroid specialist who was able to present me with ALL my treatment options and who let me decide which one was the best one for me. I’m happy to report that I recently underwent laparoscopic and hysteroscopic surgical removal of my fibroids and am feeling so much better!
In a separate post, I will list those web sites that proved so helpful to me in educating me on this issue and helping me find the right treatment option for me.
Several months ago, I was diagnosed with benign tumors of the uterus otherwise known as fibroids. Before this diagnosis I’d never heard of fibroids and had no clue what they were!!! Most women, particularly in their 30’s and 40’s will develop fibroids and for most they cause no problems at all. For some, however, they do cause problems including pelvic pain and pressure, excessive bleeding and anemia and fatigue among other things. I suffered from all of these problems and some others. The most common treatment for fibroids offered by most doctors, including most obgyn’s, particularly if a woman is beyond her childbearing years is hysterectomy. Some doctors will even recommend hysterectomy even when a woman’s fibroids are not symptomatic!!! *THE POINT IS THAT HYSTERECTOMY IS TOO OFTEN OFFERED BY DOCTORS AS THE ONLY TREATMENT FOR FIBROIDS WHEN THERE ARE A NUMBER OF OTHER MUCH LESS INVASIVE TREATMENT OPTIONS.* Having participated in a few online support groups for fibroids, I cannot tell you how common a story it is for a woman to post that she’s been diagnosed with fibroids and been to three or four doctors who have all told her that she should have a hysterectomy. *THIS SHOULD NOT BE HAPPENING!* Too many doctors, out of lack of up to date knowledge or skills and/or for financial interest reasons or for other reasons I still can’t fathom, are not advising their fibroid patients of ALL the treatment options they may have available to them.
I too was initially presented with hysterectomy as my treatment option. Thankfully, living in the days of the Internet I was able to do my own research, connect with other women in a similar situation to mine and to find a fibroid specialist who was able to present me with ALL my treatment options and who let me decide which one was the best one for me. I’m happy to report that I recently underwent laparoscopic and hysteroscopic surgical removal of my fibroids and am feeling so much better!
In a separate post, I will list those web sites that proved so helpful to me in educating me on this issue and helping me find the right treatment option for me.
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